The present invention is directed toward a verification system for use with the projectile cleaning of a tube or pipe and more particularly, toward a verification system that indicates whether a cleaning projectile has exited the tube, pipe or hose that is being cleaned by the projectile.
Dirt and debris often accumulates in tubes, hoses and pipes used commercially and as well as by individuals. Some examples where tubes and pipes are used is in heat exchangers and condensers, steam boilers, oil, gas, and chemical processing, earthmoving equipment, and gun barrels. Traditional cleaning methods used to clean such structures often involve dismantling the system's components and using chemical cleaning substances that may be harmful to the user.
The cleaning solution may be placed on a swab of absorbent material and forced or drawn through the tube or pipe with an elongated rod or the like. While such cleaning systems may be useful when the tubes or pipes are relatively short, they are of little value when the tubes or pipes are long. In processing systems, for example, tubes may be hundreds of feet long and/or may pass between various rooms or floors of a building.
It is also known in the art to clean the interior of tubes or pipes by forcing foam-like projectiles through the tube utilizing compressed air as the propellant. Such systems normally utilize a pneumatic gun or launcher to propel the projectile through the entire length of tube. As the foam projectile is forced through the interior of the tube, it scrapes and cleans the inside walls thereof. See, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,631,555 and 4,467,488. Other launchers and projectiles for use with such cleaning systems are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,547,440; 1,806,270; 4,974,277 and 5,555,585. As is common with such prior art cleaning systems, the projectile are forced through the entire length of tube or pipe and, after cleaning the interior thereof, exits the distal end of the tube or pipe. The distal end of the tube is frequently inserted into a large drum which is used to collect the dirty, spent projectiles.
Because the distal end of the tube being cleaned is located within a drum, it is sometimes impossible to determine whether the spent projectile actually exits the tube and enters the drum. This becomes a particularly difficult problem when the collection drum is located in a different room or is otherwise not visible to the person doing the cleaning. As a result provisions must be made to manually inspect or otherwise test every tube after it has been cleaned to ensure that the projectile did not remain in the tube. Obviously, allowing a projectile to remain in a tube would interfere with the proper operation of the processing equipment or other apparatus with which the tube is used.
Therefore, a need exists for a system that provides an accurate indication as to whether or not a cleaning projectile has properly passed entirely through a hose, tube or pipe being cleaned. Such a system could allow for an automated cleaning system for tubes, hoses or pipes.